Veteran big man Bismack Biyombo, who earned a spot on the Spurs‘ roster for the upcoming season, is valued by the organization for more than just his on-court contributions, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. McDonald points to a preseason game this week in which Biyombo enjoyed playing the role of teacher as he was on the court with four young players who are headed for the G League.
“It’s a great group of young guys just to be around and help them out,” Biymobo said. “I think when you enjoy doing what you do, then you can’t call it work. And I enjoy working with good people.”
Biyombo was out of the NBA in February when he received a call from the Spurs, who were seeking help at center after trading Zach Collins to Chicago. Biyombo signed a 10-day deal with the expectation of being a backup, but he was promoted to the starting lineup when San Antonio lost Victor Wembanyama for the season with deep vein thrombosis.
He re-signed this summer on an Exhibit 9 contract that only guaranteed him a spot at training camp. The Spurs saw his influence as a leader late last season and decided to keep him on the roster.
“He is very selfless,” Julian Champagnie said. “He goes on the floor with those young guys and teaches them. He’s directing traffic. Stuff like that’s really valuable.”
There’s more from San Antonio:
- “French Vanilla” is the catchy nickname Spurs fans have given to the combination of Wembanyama and free agent addition Luke Kornet, McDonald adds in a separate story. The former Celtics center was brought in primarily to be a backup for Wembanyama, but they’ve been effective in their minutes together. “Having two rim protectors can give you a lot of versatility to make things hard for the teams,” Kornet said. “Then should be a fun time trying to figure it out offensively how to best fit that together.”
- San Antonio has several options at point guard, but Dylan Harper is best positioned to be Wembanyama’s long-term partner, observes Jared Weiss of The Athletic. The No. 2 pick in this year’s draft was sidelined for a while following thumb surgery, but he’s already showing signs of stardom since returning. “There’s a reason that there are expectations and thoughts of him before he got to this gym, and I think it’s our job to continue to cultivate that and support that and challenge him,” coach Mitch Johnson said. “He’s obviously shown a knack for sound decision-making and making plays with the basketball in his hands.”
- Lindy Waters III will undergo a minor laser eye procedure to correct an issue that was found in his preseason physical, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link). Waters won’t be available for opening night, but he’s not expected to miss much – if any – time beyond that.
D harp and wemby seem to mesh on a characteristic level. Very selfless winners
Return of the Mack!
I am team Castle x Wemby over Harper x Wemby
Why “over”. They will play together – Castle is going to be a star – but Harper is the pure PG.
Castle is a PG and in no way is Harper more of a PG than Castle. I dont know why people label Castle as not being a PG when he clearly is one and has said already thats the position he wants to play.
Castle played SG in college. You are right and he said he wanted to be a PG with Pop etc. He is 6’6 and can play SG. I think they can fit next to each other well. If both are able to start the offense then that’s good, Castle is good defensively and Porter is more of a offensive player
I don’t understand the Fox contract though.
I mean Harper is also listed at 6’6, honestly I just feel like as soon as one of them gets picked as the de facto point guard the other one wont develop as much.
Having Fox makes things even weirder. I think Spurs believe they can just ride Fox until Harper/Castle develop and then play them alongside eachother, but I really would like to see Castle as a PG.
Then who would you have drafted instead?
Honestly, I love VJ but I also feel like Tre Johnson would have been a great fit for them. Even Ace Bailey would have been a better fit in my opinion, though I wouldnt have the guts to draft him at 2.
I feel like they could have pulled a 2017 Boston Celtics and traded back a little.
I am by myself I feel like on this but I don’t like VJ. I do love Tre Johnson and Bailey though. You could be right about all this. Time will tell
VJ reminds me of a poor man’s Russell Westbrook. Once the athleticism is gone then he is toast
I agree and think they should have drafted Johnson and Bailey instead